The Starving Artist
by Kutie192
Summary: Miki has a chance to impress Kiseki, but it backfires. Only a certain little neko can cheer her up and encourage her. But how? One-shot; Miki & Yoru


**Hello, this is Kutie192. Not new to Fanfiction (or fanfics for that matter -.-;) but this is my first time publishing something here. It was basically a favor to a friend so that i wouldn't get murdered. So review and whatnot- support a fellow writer here! **

**Obviously i don't own Shugo Chara or the characters, cuz if i did, everyone would be with their soulmates *cough* Ikuto and Amu *cough* Excuse me ^-^;;**

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"Finished!" Miki shouted, ripping a piece of paper from her sketch pad. She thought, for a moment, that Suu's face would crack from the large smile the chara wore. Not that that was unusual for the little green maid, but still.

"Sugoi-desu! That's our Miki!" Suu declared cheerfully. The blue artist blushed bashfully. While Amu and the other Guardians were in school, the charas had taken turns getting their pictures drawn by Miki. Everyone enjoyed and praised the way she portrayed every one of them. She drew Ran shooting the winning shot at a basketball game, Pepe sleeping peacefully in a crib, Suu cooking in a little kitchen, Rhythm break dancing, and Kusukusu doing a handstand at a circus. They all squealed in delight and commended Miki's abilities, making her feel more and more proud.

"Oi, Commoners! What's all the commotion down there?" The so-called "commoners" looked at each other with matching looks of irritation and flew up to the highest room of the dollhouse. They found Kiseki lounging on his little throne, bored.

"Miki was just drawing for us; she's got real talent," Rhythm explained, giving a thumbs up. The little king raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" Kiseki countered. The little blue chara simply nodded. "In that case, I command you to draw me. Create a regal portrait that people will treasure when I conquer the world! A-hahahaha!" Everyone sweat-dropped as he had his moment, but a thought occurred to Miki. For so long, she had admired Kiseki and wanted to gain his attention; this was her chance. If she could express her feelings in her art work, she may finally get the chara of her dreams.

"Hai!" she agreed. Kiseki assumed a position that he thought was royal, and Miki sketched away. The piece only took about twenty minutes, but she put great skill and concentration into the work- for the love of her art and the cocky king. Before they knew it, she was done. "Finished!" she declared proudly and ripped the sheet from her book. Kiseki snatched it and the others quickly gathered behind him to see. As expected, they all let out gasps of surprise.

Miki had drawn the chara in a hip-hop outfit and a sideways cap, leaning against a brick wall with a self-assured smirk. This was how she saw the little king: as cool and confident. Everyone began to talk at once.

"Wow Miki, you've really outdone yourself this time!" Ran cheered.

"Kawaii-desu," Suu added.

"She must have incredible talent to make Kiseki look that cool-dechu," said Pepe.

"Nice rhythm," Rhythm chimed in. Kusukusu just giggled cheerfully. For the first time, however, Miki didn't care about the others' compliments. All that mattered was what Kiseki thought.

"So Kiseki?" she asked nervously. All of a sudden, the picture was in shreds and the king was red in the face.

"What kind of blasphemy is this?! How dare you portray me in such an inappropriate manner? And you call yourself and artist…" He turned his back on Miki while the others leapt to her defense.

"Oi, Kiseki, that's so harsh," Rhythm said. Suu joined in, scolding like a proud mother.

"Yeah, she tried to give you a special gift-desu."

"Miki? Miki! Where are you going?" Ran cried at the wounded artist's retreating form. The charas watched as she flew out of the Royal Garden and out of sight.

"Geez Kiseki, sometimes you can be so heartless-dechu," Pepe grumbled.

"Silence!"

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Miki flew fast as she could, blinking away the tears that welled up in her eyes. When she felt as if she was about to collapse, she floated into a tree and hid among the foliage. After situating herself on a branch, she let the streams fall from her eyes. Never had she been used to having her work seen as anything but amazing. Even the stubborn, cool and spicy Amu had commended her skills. But in the end, it was not enough to win Kiseki's heart like she planned. Instead, it was breaking her own.

The wounded artist tried to wipe her tears away, but they were simply replaced. The only thing that brought her from her world of hurt was a paw in her face. "Oi, you okay-nya?" a voice asked. Miki looked up to find a familiar neko chara staring at her with his tail swishing curiously.

"Y-Yoru? What are you doing here?" The little cat suddenly looked very proud.

"I'm a cat-nya. It only seems appropriate that I'd climb a tree." Miki sweat-dropped at his logic- or lack there of. "But anyways, why were you crying-nya? Are you hurt?"

_Only my heart and pride_, she thought, but remained silent. Accepting her silence for now, Yoru used his paw to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be okay-nya," he reassured. Miki's cheeks flashed pink and she suddenly felt that she could confide in the little neko. After all, she needed to talk to someone. And who was he going to tell? Other alley cats?

"Just… something happened between me and Kiseki," she muttered softly. Yoru plopped down beside her and his ears twitched attentively. "He wanted me to draw him, but he found my art offensive and not good enough. I always pictured him as cool so I tried to show him what he looked like through my eyes, but he hated it and even said I wasn't good enough artist." Another tear fell, but Yoru caught it with his tail.

"You liked him?" he asked. With crimson cheeks, the artist nodded.

"Well, I never liked the king-nya. Seems a little too….cold to be the ruler of anything; I wouldn't take anything he says to heart-nya." Miki just gave a final sniffle. A moment of silence passed before a small smile crossed her sad face.

"Arigato, Yoru," she muttered. The little cat's ear twitched.

"Nani-nya?"

"For trying to make me feel better." Yoru just smiled a cheeky, feline smile and her own grew in response. Suddenly, he sprang from the branch and flew through the air happily.

"I just got a great idea-nya!" he sang. Poor Miki could just sit there in confusion.

"N-Nani?"

"Draw me, draw me, draw me-nya!" Miki just repeated herself,

"Nani?!"

"Yeah! We'll show that petty king what you're really capable of-nya!"

"D-Demo…" What could she say, really? After the last incident, she was a bit hesitant to try again. "Gomen…I just can't." That didn't stop the neko.

"We'll see about that-nya!" He lunged at her and she closed her eyes in shock. When she thought the threat was over, she opened them and felt something missing. Patting her head, she shrieked as she felt her exposed hair.

"Oi Yoru! Give me my hat!" She snapped. The cat just danced in the air before throwing the hat up and letting it land on his own head.

"Nope; not until you draw me- nya," he stated happily. Very aware of her possible hat-head, Miki contemplated lunging at the cat, but realized she would never catch the swift feline. She sighed in defeat.

"Hai," she surrendered and got her pad and pencil from her bag. Ignoring the trembling of her hands, she began to sketch the chara before her. While she would never admit it, she had a certain fascination with Yoru too. That made drawing him all the more intimidating. She didn't want her heart shattered a second time, but what choice did she have? She couldn't deny that she was starving- starving for the approval of at least one person who held her heart.

"F-Finished," she mumbled as her heart beat erratically. Excitedly, Yoru flew down and peeked at the picture. It was of him drinking from a bowl of milk with his tail curled in the shape of a heart and, of course, she couldn't resist drawing him with her hat as well; he pulled it off too well. As the silence stretched on, Miki found it harder and harder to breathe, but the feeling only tripled when the neko threw his arms around her neck.

"Sugoi, sugoi-nya! You captured me perfectly!" He flew around for a minute before removing her hat from his head and placing it back on her own. The little artist, who now sported cheeks hot enough to cook on, felt her heart slowly glue itself back together. The pride she felt was enough to make her feel lightheaded; only the cat's next words stopped her from floating away on her happy little cloud.

"More!" Miki blinked.

"Eh?"

"More, more, more-nya! Draw more pictures; show me what you can really do, Miki!" he exclaimed. Suddenly determined and eager to please, the artist pulled the brim of her hat a little lower to focus.

"Hai!" With that, they drew for hours upon hours, chronicling the day with professional-looking images. The blue artist sketched dozens of pictures of her new companion, while he modeled; some poses made her laugh and smile, others made her sweat-drop or blush, others just made her wonder what the heck he was on. Still, her heart swelled more and more with each new portrait and she knew she had found the perfect muse.

After a while, a curious Yoru stopped posing and sat beside Miki to see how she created her masterpieces. He was entranced as she focused on shading his eyes, tail, and ears- all of his most vibrant features. He also noticed how she concentrated on the subject before dealing with the background and items. Such great care and precision all for her one, true passion. Yoru found himself curling his tail around her waist. If it were not for the tint of pink her cheeks held, he would've thought she was unaffected.

"Miki? Miki, where are you?" Amu's voice called. Miki and Yoru both came back to reality as Amu, Ran, and Suu called for their missing friend.

"Aw, I guess you have to go now-nya?" Yoru pouted, his ears drooping in an adorable fashion. Seeing as how the sun was about to set without either of them noticing, Miki nodded solemnly.

"Hai, demo… it was fun, Yoru. Maybe we could hang out again so I can draw more?" she asked timidly. Glad that she was confident in her art again, the neko gave her a thumbs up.

"You betcha-nya!" with a wave, Miki flew from the tree.

"Ja ne!" She began to float towards where she heard the voices, but it was Yoru's voice that stopped her.

"Wait-nya! You forgot something!" he yelled as he flew after her. Her mind raced. Was it her hat? No, that was on her head. Maybe a portrait; they'd made so many, she probably left one behind. When he approached her, she expected him to hand her something, but instead his arms flew around her neck and he licked her cheek. She just stayed in place, face on fire and brain blank.

"That was all-nya," the neko stated with a smirk, "Ja ne!" and he was gone. Miki was left floating there until a voice behind her snapped her out of it.

"Oi Miki, there you are! Come on, my mom's going to get worried," Amu stated. Apparently, she knew nothing about what had happened all day. Obediently, Miki floated along beside her. A worried Ran was suddenly whispering in her fellow chara's ear,

"Are you alright?" Miki knew she was talking about what happened back in the Garden, but thinking back over the time she spent with Yoru, the way he made her smile and shine, and the parting "kiss", the rejuvenated artist smiled and answered honestly,

"Hai…I'm going to be just fine."

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**Remember, review or something- feedback= happiness. 3**


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